Class Action Filed By Meyer Wilson Against Ohio National Life

December 11, 2018 by
Meyer Wilson

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Dec. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Come December 13, 2018, thousands of advisors will be out tens of millions of dollars as a result of Ohio National Life Insurance Company’s termination of trailing commission payments on its variable annuities with guaranteed minimum income benefit (GMIB) riders. Many advisors seeking accountability are turning to a recently filed class action lawsuit by Meyer Wilson to recover what they claim they are rightfully owed.

The uproar stems from Ohio National’s September 28th announcement that it is terminating trailing commissions to broker-dealers and securities representatives for variable annuity policies with (GMIB) riders, with December 12thmarked as the date the company will officially stop paying commissions on sold and existing policies. In recent years, Ohio National has issued billions of dollars’ worth of GMIB variable annuity policies through a network of numerous broker-dealer representatives across the country, thousands of whom will be out tens of millions of dollars due to Ohio National’s actions.

The announcement hasn’t just been tough for those advisors. It’s also impacting policyholders who see no reduction in expenses, despite their annual fees including costs of ongoing advice. Those customers, many of whom are retirement-aged investors, may be cut-off from expert advice by their trusted advisors about their next steps, whether that means managing existing contracts, annuitizing, or analyzing buyout offers for values they may not be able to calculate.

Those harms are what led to the filing of a federal class action lawsuit by securities attorneys Attorneys David Meyer and Dennis Concilla on behalf of Lance Browning, a financial advisor from Texas, and other similarly situated advisors. Shortly after the lawsuit was filed, Ohio National announced its Chief Distribution Officer had been laid off, and that its President and Chief Operating Officer would be stepping down.

The class-action, filed on November 6, 2018 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio (Case No. 1:18-cv-00763), claims that Ohio National is “trying to change the rules after the game has already started,” and that the Cincinnati-based mutual insurance company does not have the right to unilaterally terminate its contractual obligation to pay trailing commissions on existing policies. In addition to other causes of action, it also claims unjust enrichment in regard to Ohio National pocketing the proceeds.

Advisors affected by Ohio National’s decision, many of whom are small business owners, are now leveraging the power of the civil justice system to make their voices heard and to pursue the recovery of their monetary damages. The lawsuit is currently pending and can be viewed here.

David Meyer and Dennis Concilla are Ohio securities lawyers recognized nationally as leaders in the field of securities recruiting law and investment-related matters. The two attorneys filed the first class action lawsuit against Ohio National on behalf of advisors who are owed trialing commissions from Ohio National Life for its existing GMIB variable annuities. For more information about the lawsuit, visit:www.ohiocommissions.com.